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Thursday, December 20, 2012

I am pleased to announce that I am completely finished with my fall semester coursework and Winter Break is finally here! Although the work started piling up at the end as it always seems to, I powered through it and am very satisfied with my hard work. I definitely underestimated how much research I had compiled for my final projects until it was all laying in a pile on my floor - it was a tad overwhelming but somewhat organized (to me at least). The final thing submitted marking the end of my semester was a brief yet concise summary explaining the formation, hazards, and mitigation of ice dams that form on rooftops during the winter season, caused by unwanted heat rising through attic ceilings and melting the snow on the exterior. Ice dams have potential to cause major damage to the house and also can become a source of mold and mildew which is no good! Preventing them can save a lot of potential problems. Thankfully, I was able to refer back to a handy little diagram I drew a few years back in my Systems Approach to Residential Construction class, and was able to get my final assignment submitted quickly and painlessly.

Outside of my exciting end-of-semester news, I am continuing to work for the next few days at our new office on the East Bank Campus that CBS Student Services recently moved to (which I mentioned a few weeks back). It is freshly renovated and in a convenient spot on campus, so I already love the change in scenery. At the end of the weekend I will be heading back home to southwestern Minnesota and spend a week or two with my family and relaxing. Hope you are all staying warm, it's getting cold out there!

Wednesday, December 19, 2012

If you read my blog last week, you know that I had my final critique for my senior line last week, which is the accumulation of everything I've done this semester! I got some great feedback and made some changes to certain pieces to make the line flow more and have a cohesive collection.

In design, especially at a large school with an extensive program, you learn that much more goes into design than just designing and creating. Editing is a huge and very important part of design. As the designer and sole creator of a line, it is very easy to get lost in the pieces and not really see the big picture. This is why it is very important to have outside perspectives give you insight on how to create a line that truly flows and defines your aesthetic.

In my critique I got some great feedback, mostly regarding one piece, which didn't quite fit in with the others. After hearing what they had to say, and playing with different ideas and solutions, I changed the piece to the look below. (Check out my blog last week to see the original design)

The end of finals, planning the return trips home, getting ready for holiday events with friends and families. All this stuff builds up right when finals hit and hopefully you made it through with some sleep and dignity. I had no dignity last week...2 all nighters and some serious holes in my final model design. Add in a few brain farts during my presentation and it all ended with an awkward sweeping spew of information from an awesome crew of guest reviewers that came in for LA 3001. The reviews were exciting and with so many people the 2 hours flew by. My advice for model reviews: stick to what you know, talk sparingly, listen actively, and be appreciative and welcoming to new ideas!!

I just got a tip from my friend An, a current Landscape Architecture Graduate student. Check out the Minneapolis Convention Center on Facebook and look at the Vote: creative challenge. Just by reading the proposal I learned a lot about Minneapolis, downtown, street grids, and art as an informative diagram.Hope your enjoying new found freedoms and winter time fun. See you next time!!!

Tuesday, December 18, 2012

I just turned in my last final online. So, now it is time to plan activities for winter break. The first thing on my list is to visit an exhibition at the Minneapolis Institute of Arts. There is a visiting exhibition that people cannot stop talking about: China's Terracotta Warriors. Not to mention that college students get the lowest admission rate with college ID. How can I miss this? The next thing on my list is going to see Christmas Carol at the Guthrie Theater. It is a perfect time for that. I wrote about the Guthrie in one of my past blogs. Minneapolis ranks number second in the U.S. for the highest theater seats per capita. I have no option, but to take advantage of all the resources around me.

The list is still going, but I think it is better to recap the best moment of finals week. I had a review for my BDA workshop, Furniture Design, last week. We had four weeks to design and create a piece of furniture for our own home. I chose to make a floor table because I do all my works on the floor. Here is the result:

Whaaalaaa...a three-legged table.

It is a single line metal leg with single sheet hardwood table top. Height can be adjusted when tilting at angle. One of my critique said the table was very poetic in the way the metal leg and table piece married together. I think that comment was very poetic.

I hope you are finishing up with your finals as well. Good luck with all the things in life and happy holidays!!

One thing I really love about winter break is that it is long enough to give you some much deserved time off from constant studying and designing, but short enough to stay motivated about improving your portfolio and getting ready for next semester. Take a week or two off if you need to, but set a date for yourself to reevaluate the work you did this semester and see if it can be improved upon - this is especially important if you are Freshman who will be participating in Portfolio Review at the beginning of next fall! I often find that after not seeing work I did for a few weeks, I will look back and immediately notice things that bother me and could be improved. It definitely isn't necessary to improve all of the work you did this semester, but picking some of your best work and polishing it to make it really shine is a great start.

During my winter break, one of my biggest goals will be to finally get around to making a new portfolio website. I had been hoping to work on a new portfolio this semester, but was so busy that I didn't get around to it. Previously, I have used Cargo and Behance to easily create an online portfolio, but this time I will be creating my own site from scratch and hosting it on my own domain that I purchased. Websites like Cargo and Behance are great ways to start showcasing your work, even as a Freshman or Sophomore. In a future blog, I plan on talking about the pros and cons of using a service like Cargo or Behance vs. coding your own website from scratch.

Because I am very interested in web and interactive design, coding my own website makes the most sense for me, and also allows me to showcase my skills. I am excited to create a responsive website that will be easily accessible across all devices with different size screens. If you aren't familiar with responsive web design, you should check some websites that use it. Try resizing your browser horizontally on responsive sites and watch how the page automatically adapts to different sizes. Neato!

No blog next week, but I will be blogging once a week for the rest of break after that. Happy Holidays!

Finals are over and winter break has started, so I think that in today's post I'll write about some of the fun, non-class related activities that the University of Minnesota offers to its students.

Most of these fun activities are part of Gopher's After Dark and are planned by the Student Unions & Activities committee. The entertainment and activities that occur at Gopher's After Dark take place at our student union, Coffman, on Friday and Saturday nights. Movies, music shows, entertainment artists, games, and many other fun and random activities take place during these weekend events. The movies that are shown during these nights are free and are movies that are freshly out of the theaters, but have yet to be released on DVD. The musical acts and shows typically occur at The Whole Music Club, which is located in the basement of Coffman, and showcase both local and nationally known artists. Occasionally, there are famous comedians, motivational speakers, and other well-known entertainers that come and perform for the students on these nights; one time I saw the comedic cast Chelsea Lately, it was pretty funny. There is also bowling and a game room, where students can simply socialize and have fun; these two activities, however, are also available during weekdays. Sometimes, events that are set up by other student groups that take place at Gophers After Dark as well. One event in particular that I recall is called "Scrubbed into Fashion;" it a fashion show set up by the Student group Fashion and Business.

And MAN OH MAN, I seriously cannot wait. It's been a good semester, but I'm ready to put a lid on it and officially start my winter break. Right now, the only thing left on my plate is my Textile Analysis lecture final exam on Wednesday at 8am (bright and early). I've been studying my butt off, and I'm feeling pretty good about it. I've still got a whole day left to fully prepare, so I'm really glad that I spaced out my studying over the span of a few days.

Some of the things I'm excited to do over break include applying for scholarships and internships. As appealing as a totally lazy bum winter break might be, I think productivity is even more appealing and it will ultimately pay off in the long run. I am hoping to have a full time internship this summer, and that isn't going to find itself. I have a place in mind, so that's step one, but I still need to work on my resume, cover letter, and application materials. I have some rough drafts, so on Wednesday sometime after my final I plan on heading over to Career and Internship Services to get everything looked at and critiqued. Having a resource like that which is so easily accessibly is honestly priceless (and actually, it's free guys). It's always a good idea to have an extra set of eyes or two to look at stuff like that, so I can't wait to get some feedback.

As for scholarships, I'll be hunting throughout the University website and beyond. There was also an email that went out about the 2013 President's Student Leadership and Service Awards. It could be a long shot, but I intend on applying for this since I do have leadership experience that I've acquired over the past few years. I'll be sure to let you know how it goes!

One other thing I'm really looking forward to over break is my trip to Chicago coming up. I'll be sure to take lots of pictures and blog about it so stay tuned! :)

Friday, December 14, 2012

Here's a question: Did you know you can come the University of Minnesota and get a customized College of Design tour where you get to see resources, equipment, and student work up close and personal? If you did know this, then great! If you did not know this, don't fret because tours are offered almost every Friday and will resume in the new semester beginning January 25th. If you're wondering who your tour guide would be... the answer is probably me! I give tours every Friday to students who are interested in Interior Design, Apparel Design, Graphic Design, Housing Studies, and Retail Merchandising. There's another awesome tour guide dedicated to Architecture and Landscape Design & Planning over in Rapson Hall (the other design building).

These tours are a great way to learn more about programs you are interested in as well as get a sense of what the campuses are like. It's nice because you see a dorm, get an info session, then get to view the academic side of things. Some of the highlights include seeing studio spaces for various majors, getting an inside peek at resources available, and the services such as Student Services or Career and Internship Services. By learning about what the College of Design has to offer while you are a prospective student, it really gives you an advantage once you come here because you already know so much.

Thursday, December 13, 2012

It's a big week for students here at the U as final exams begin and social lives are put on hold. Aside from a few finals early next week, I've been spending most of my time on a term paper and group research project in my Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) course. MY group mates and I are working hard assessing, modeling, and comparing the life cycles and carbon/greenhouse gas emissions of two different commercial roofing materials/treatments: a PVC-laminated poly membrane called Dura-Last made from recycled post-industrial waste, and modular LiveRoof "living" green roof system. Some of our inventory modeling work is shown below - as you can see, things are starting to get complicated. Although it can be frustrating at times, the application of course material to a group project l is where we really start to gain a deeper understanding and appreciation for LCA and its allied sciences. Hopefully, I'll be able to apply it in the real world one day.

Outside of the school craziness, the weather must've been feeling wild and threw us all a deceivingly beautiful "welcome to MinneSnowta" snowstorm. Although the outdoor conditions throughout remained mostly calm and picturesque (large fluffy snowflakes gently falling and now wind), the precipitation went steady and strong for longer than most people realized. After what seemed like days of constant snowfall, the temperatures dipped into the low teens - turning roads into ice skating rinks overnight. Traffic was absolute mayhem for a good part of Monday morning (not exaggerating) before city workers were able to melt the ice on main roads. The whole thing was a pretty dramatic seasonal transition for all of us, but the first big snowfall is always a fun time for us Minnesotans, assuming your car didn't get towed during a Snow Emergency.

On a final note, I am pleased to announce that I was recently offered an internship at HOME Line, a Minneapolis based nonprofit tenant advocacy organization - offering free legal advice to renters across Minnesota. Much of my position there will be focused on their tenant hotline helping renters with tenant problems and legal issues. I'm super excited about the opportunity and feel that it will be a great way to broaden my housing policy knowledge and use it to empower others. Although it is an unpaid internship, I will be receiving required course internship credits for my time there and working at my regular campus job on the side. I start this coming January, stay posted for future updates!

Wednesday, December 12, 2012

So yesterday I realized that I had only one more day of class left until I was done with my semester. I got a huge feeling of excitement and drowsiness; most of us have been running on very little sleep during finals week. With all of my projects due Monday and Tuesday this week I had a major push last weekend for what felt like a million things. I am sure some of you can relate, but I just am so happy that I made it to Wednesday! So all thats left is a dance class, attending a presentation and then presenting a model in 3001. THEN. I. AM. DONE. Then I am going to Rome and Istanbul. Where there is no snow. This study abroad Architecture program is leaving in January and returning in May, meaning I get to skip the majority of winter in Minnesota! Having grown up here I am more than happy to skip one cold season for the moderate rainy season of Italy and Turkey.

I hope you all are ready for some winter activities like sledding, ice skating and hot cocoa drinking. Check out the ice castles over by the Mall of America, ice skating at the Depot in downtown, or try to find the best tasting hot cocoa in the city! Enjoy winter break and get ready for some winter fun when you get back!

Tuesday, December 11, 2012

Final week has officially started. Several classes in the architecture programs already have their final reviews going on. So, what is final review? Think of it like a final, but with you presenting what you have done, what you have learned, and your greatest work from that particular course. Most of the design courses will test your knowledge and your ability during the semester by "reviewing" your project. Students will most likely be faced with a review than a test or a paper. It allows students to get feedback from their peers, instructors, and even professionals in the field you are studying.

I snapshot a view of Rapson Hall during final review week for you. It was definitely the liveliest time of the semester. Every space in the courtyard was occupied. I visited several reviews, listening to people explaining their projects and what they have been working on. It was super interesting and inspiring. The type of projects ranged from landscape architecture, to architectural photography, to furniture, and much more. Every review also have professionals in that particular field visiting and giving feedback to students. I had a review this past Monday for my furniture design class, and we have real furniture designers from company like Blu Dot as our guest critiques. Nothing is better than having these "big deal" people look at your project and talk about your project.

The final week is still going on and I cannot wait to be inspired by all of the talented design students. I hope you are as excited as I am.

This past Sunday a pretty big snowstorm hit Minneapolis and everyone on campus appeared to be pretty excited about it! Last year's winter was pretty mild and warm, with very little snow. So when the snow started falling this past weekend, everyone was excited to take part in fun snow festivities that we missed out on last year, festivities such as snowball fights with friends!

Snow is typically inevitable during the winter months in Minnesota and tends to change things up a little on campus, particularly in transportation via Campus Connector busses. During winter months, Campus Connectors tend to run a little slower than in the fall and spring months, usually about five minutes late or so. Not usually a big deal,however, as a Retail Merchandising student, I think that it is important to know about these little delays, especially before creating your class schedules.

Retail Merchandising students are continuously tranfering between the three different locations, St, Paul, East Bank, and West Bank, on the university. The connector rides between the different locations are typically quick and easy, lasting roughly about twenty minutes or so between opposite sides of campus. However, in the wintertime it can take a little longer, which can get a little tricky for us Retail students, especially if we scheduled less than a thirty minutes gap between the classes that are on opposite sides of campus.

Knowing about how things run in the winter time before you come to the university can be beneficial. So when it comes time for you, potential retail students, to create class schedules, make sure to leave at a forty minute gap between class that are on opposite sides of campus.

It's over! (mostly) My final line is complete (minus a few finishing details that need to wait until final fittings, like lining one dress, a few zippers, and hems, etc) I am so excited that I've gotten this far in such a small time frame!

These past two weekends I have spent every waking moment in studio. For example, this past weekend, I spent 55 of 80 hours in studio. (Thursday afternoon through Sunday night) It was a crazy busy time for me, but when you truly love something, like design and fashion, you'll put in the time, no matter how much it ends up being. It is something you're passionate about, so it is your top priority.

For our final critique, our mentors, professors and other design faculty and staff, as well as students, all come together to listen to your presentation and give feedback. It is always positive, but critical, as that is how design evolves, and designers grow.

One thing that is great about design classes is that your final projects are usually due the week before finals week. Once you get further along in the program and have finished up your liberal education requirements that have more traditional final exams, you might not even have any tests during finals week. I am pretty excited that I will be completely done with this semester come Wednesday evening after I present my final project in Web & Interface Design.

If you do still have some final exams coming up next week, let me give you some advice: get your studying done this week! I have been in the situation a few times before where my classes were over but I had my last final almost a week later. It is not fun and not easy to make yourself study after several days of feeling like your semester is over. If you have finals next week, treat the rest of your week off as a normal school week and get the majority of your studying done now. You will feel so much better and will be able to enjoy your weekend and days off before finishing up. Get your studying done now while you are still in school mode and brush up with a quick review before you breeze through your last exams, you will thank yourself!

That's it for now. I need to put the finishing touches on my project!

Sean MateerGraphic Design

P.S. I would highly suggest stopping by Open Port, the graphic design senior show for seniors graduating this semester. The show is from 5-8pm this Friday November 14th at the Weisman Art Museum and it is free! This is a great opportunity to check out some awesome work and get idea of what your portfolio may entail when you graduate. You can also get advice from and network with the students graduating from the program.

Thursday, December 6, 2012

Managing your design projects on top of other group projects or finals you might have can be challenging. Here are some tips to help you get through the last few demanding weeks:

1) Ask professors for extra feedback

It often seems that your biggest and most important studio project of the semester is crammed into a very short amount of time in the final weeks of class. On more than one occasion, I have felt that the amount of critique I received from my classmates and professor toward the end of the semester just wasn't quite enough. Luckily, most professors will be completely willing to give you some more feedback during their office hours or via email.

2) Stay organized, Plan ahead

Okay, so staying organized and planning ahead is a given, but I have encountered a few unforeseen and stressful situations toward the end of the semester that I never would have seen coming. For instance, if you need project supplies from the St. Paul Bookstore for a project, make sure to grab them before the weekend. The Coffman Bookstore is open on Saturday, but not Sundays! Also make sure to pay attention to the Computer lab hours for printing and working.

3) Choose your battles wisely

Okay, so you got more feedback on your project and you planned ahead as best as you could, but you still can't find enough time to create the work you would truly like to. Don't stress out too much - remember that you can always improve upon your work later. When it comes time to graduate, the work in your portfolio is what will matter - not the grade you got on one project in your foundation class. With that being said, always do your best- but your best is hardly even what you hand in to your professor. Improvements can always be made after the fact!

I feel that I can speak for most U of M undergrads when describing this week as a true challenge in the area of time management - finals are right around the corner and most of us have other projects and deadlines to take care of first. In other words, it's crunch time. There's no doubt I've succumb to the mechanically operating work-school-study-sleep-repeat routine that get caught up in at this time of the year. While it may not be the most balanced or wholesome means of existence, a structured and productive daily agenda is to be expected when cruising through the home stretch of academic term - there is an end in sight!

The recent cold snap that sent all of us for a loop yesterday brought less than favorable outdoor conditions, so instead of traveling to campus and back for our scheduled library session, my friend Sean (senior, School of Journalism & Mass Communications) and I set up a makeshift study nook at my place and were able to remain studious for several hours (not usually the case for me when studying in a college residential environment). While I seldom study at my house (or friends' places) because of the numerous distractions that tend to present themselves, I will note that our current home in the SE Como Neighborhood is a far more favorable study environment than some of our previous residences - my freshman residence hall (Pioneer Hall) being a good comparative example. Pioneer was great - loved every minute of it - but it was in no way an ideal place to get serious homework done, which was okay since the Biomedical Library was in the tunnel system just across the street and open late.

In other news, the office I work at part-time (College of Biological Sciences Student Services) will soon be moving from Snyder Hall on the St. Paul Campus to Molecular and Cellular Biology (MCB) on the East Bank of the Minneapolis Campus! I'm pretty excited for the move; it will work perfectly with my schedule for the upcoming Spring 2013 academic term. It will also be convenient for CBS students who don't spend much of their time on the St. Paul Campus, and overall easier to locate with MCB being on Washington Avenue (themain drag of East Bank, light rail coming soon!). I also have an internship interview coming up next week for the upcoming Spring term, fingers crossed!

Wednesday, December 5, 2012

The temperature has been up and down lately and it makes me think about escaping Minnesota during winter. My plan is about to come true because I just submitted my study abroad application! The destination is Venice, Italy. This program will occur during the month of May, so I will have to bear this Minnesota weather in the meantime. Even though May is not really winter anymore, this plan still sounds amazing.

I chose Venice for many reasons. First, I am already familiar with Asian culture and American culture. I want to explore the European culture. Second, Venice is a city on water where car is not the primary mode of commuting. Third and the most important reason, Venice has a long history of architecture and establishment. It is the perfect place to study the changes in culture, history, landscape, and architecture through buildings. Not to mention that it is one of the prettiest places on earth.

An old Venice map, drawn in 1847

There are so many learning abroad opportunities here at the University of Minnesota. Check out the Learning Abroad website for more information. You can choose to do study abroad, volunteer abroad, intern abroad, you name it. I chose to study abroad during the month of May because it works best with my schedule. You can choose to do a semester long, year long, January term, or May term like I did. Have fun exploring the world!

Tuesday, December 4, 2012

So it's the week before finals week and I should be feeling stressed, especially looking at all that I have to have done by next Wednesday, which is a lot by the way! But oddly enough, I'm at peace and actually pretty excited to study for tests and work on projects, assignments, and papers, pretty crazy right? Well, part of the reason I'm feeling so optimistic and positive is because I've decided to start looking foreword to my assignments, getting excited about them! I feel like so much of the time we, college students, take advantage of school; we look at our assignments as something that we just have to finish and overcome, instead of appreciating and really learning form the opportunity that is set before us. So, I'm choosing to be grateful for schoolwork and studying, especially these assignments that are set before me during this crazy and stressful part of the semester! Deciding to approach this week, and hopefully the entire school year, with this positive attitude is actually giving me a heart to enjoy my schoolwork, which is allowing me to be more productive as well. And personally I need all the productivity available, especially if I'm going to be able to finish five papers, two final projects, and studying for tests/quizzes in a matter of a single week!

(Planner full and still smiling!)

I don't know, maybe it's the season, maybe it's because I know the end of the semester is so near; either way, I hope that this mindset lasts the entire school year because I definitely prefer being happy and productive rather than stressful and overwhelmed.

When people attempt to define interior design, there are always mixed messages (some on par and others completely off). For instance, some people don't realize that interior design is NOT interior decorating and some people think it's just about throw pillows and paint colors. It's more than what the TV shows say and the fact of the matter is simple: interior design is so much more. It is about creating interior spaces that will garner optimal productivity from those who inhibit it. It is about providing comfort and safety. And you know what else? It's about hard work. Some would compare the term "interior design" to "interior architecture", and to be honest, I'd say they're close if not one in the same. Now technically, a graduate of an interior design program cannot call themselves an architect, but believe me when I say that the skill set is all there.

And speaking off skill sets, I want to talk about a project I completed today for my interior design studio course (IDES 2603). As I may have mentioned in a previous post, our big final project for studio is designing a retail space. Along with this project, one of the tasks was to design a custom casegood. If you are unfamiliar with what a casegood is, it is basically a piece of furniture that doubles as storage (think cabinets, dressers, etc). When I started in the interior design program, it never even crossed my mind that I would ever be designing a piece of furniture. It was such a cool assignment because we were able to create the perfect casegood based on our retail space. This casegood fit individual concepts and moods of the space and added a unique touch to the space because it we didn't have to use standard furniture.

The interior program here is great because it is thorough. They teach you everything you need to know and everything you would dream of knowing. I am learning so many things that will be applicable to my career as an interior designer one day. I remember back in Elementary School or Junior High when kids (me included) would ask, "when are we ever gunna use that??". It's really nice to know that I don't need to wonder that anymore.

Today I thought I would post about something other than my senior line, as next week it will be completely finished and I will be sure to post about the final critique and how it was received! Can't wait! This weekend will be very busy, but everything is worth it in the end!

Back to my post! I thought I would post about taking opportunities when traveling and out with parents and family, over holidays, etc, to take advantage of different fashion and design exhibits. I often travel with my family and always am going to galleries and museums with them on our vacations. This past Thanksgiving break we were able to take some time to visit the Field Museum in Chicago, IL. The Field Museum has a great exhibit currently about the museums' clothing and fashion coordinator, and how her designs often take inspiration from older garments housed within the various regional collections. The exhibition was showing her garments alongside traditional and very old artifacts and comparing and contrasting the design elements within the pieces.

Attending events and exhibitions like these broadens your design and fashion views, as well as network and knowledge. Making time to visit even the local galleries and collection showings (during MNFashion Week, etc.) is a great start!

Monday, December 3, 2012

Designing spaces large and small is part of being a landscape planner. It is how you deal with the space you have, not the size of the space, that can shape it into something special. Working with a proposed site on a piece of paper is extremely difficult for me. Starting with a drawing on a scale version where 1"=20' then translating that into more detailed drawings and then a full sized model. Its really hard to wrap my mind around the sizing, and appropriate elements that are needed in this site. I got some good advice from my TA in LA3001 David K., In a site that is a small public space, he told me to make larger gestures with lots of direction. It is always easier to focus into smaller areas once the major concept has been expressed clearly. This advice is helping me to connect better with my site, contour lines, and structural elements. You can see from my first draft of the site that I have some sweeping ideas, but I took a lot of care in the movement of the pathways, but not the spaces outside of them. My next step is to use my contours for purposeful design, not just to be there without connection. So I suppose I am saying think outside yourself and get other people's opinions before completing a design!There is an article by the Southwest Journal that reinforces the idea that people need to experience nature. Being in nature reduces stress. But what if you work in the landscape you are supposed to be experiencing. Where is the designers relief? think about some of your stress reliever these next few weeks, get through finals with some sanity. I'll be back again next week.